UPS Source Says Documents Reveal “Something Big Is About to Happen” With Apple…

An administrative assistant at a top U.S. brokerage firm that handles Intel and Apple’s ocean/air accounts has informed the iPhone 5 News Blog that “something big is about to happen.” The source provided me with the address and telephone number of where she works, and I was able to call and verify her employment at the brokerage firm.

“Recently my team and I have been getting A LOT of protocol from Apple lately, and I can tell you there is something big getting ready to happen. Whether or not it’s the iPhone I’m not at liberty to say, but the paperwork has definately beefed up, and I’m positive it’s not MacBooks or iPads. Nothing has been flown out, but they are definately getting everything in order for customs and the FCC, I can tell you that.”

The “protocol” that the source is referring to is the routine in which a particular business runs and sets up its paperwork before going to audit or customs. UPS, in addition to being one of the world’s top delivery companies, is also is the world’s largest brokerage firm, which means that they assist big companies with their shipments that come for overseas and handle their accounts as well as helping customs. Basically anything that you order that comes from overseas goes through UPS brokerage firm and then onto customs and then finally to your door.

I also asked about the reference to the FCC. The source explained that “everything that comes from overseas gets labeled either from the FDA or FCC. Most electronics are FCC, while all food is FDA.”

Our new source’s job is to scan paperwork into the computer systems and verify them for customs and auditing. She also works in data entry, preparing documentation from big business such as Intel and Apple, whose shipments frequently come from overseas. she went on to explain in subsequent e-mails:

“I recently came into contact with some green folders (means they go straight to Cupertino itself) with unidentified units, 14 of them to be exact, as I’ve said before I’m not at liberty to go into detail but if they’re going to headquarters I can only believe that they might be testers.”

I asked her further about what “green folders” and “unidentified units” meant, and she went on to explain:

“By ‘units’ I mean the documentation for them. I handle no actual products — just their documentation. Green and red folders are high level security clearance folders, instead of the usual manilla that are used. Green and red folders are faxed to Cupertino. They aren’t shipping folders, but they contain the documentation of the shipments by Apple, such as emails from their coporate offices to the factory, invoices etc…we then get that ready to go to customs.”

Obviously, a claim like this is far from a smoking gun, and the sole compelling component of the rumor is the fact that I was able to verify the source’s identity and position at UPS. Also, my ongoing discussions with her, and the ability to explain her job at UPS’ brokerage firm and the process by which companies like Apple ship documentation into and out of the country is viable. The story, however, is not corroborated by photos or scans of any actual documents, and based on what the source told me, the most secretive documents never make reference to unreleased products by name — only by codes which she said sometimes are easy to decode, while others are not.

Finally, I asked her repeatedly about how she said she was “not at liberty to say” what the Apple documents revealed to her, seeking clarification as to whether she really meant that she “Cannot say” because she is not sure. However, she reiterated that, “she is not at liberty to say,” and repeated that the documents she has worked on reveal something other than new MacBooks or tablets. Whether or not this information is proof that the iPhone 5 and/or iTV is coming to the WWDC in June, no one can tell. But after confirming the identity of the source, I thought it was something that people who follow iPhone 5 rumors would least want to read about.
By Michael Nace